Developement and construction of electrochemical measurement system

The investigation of solder joints has a main role nowadays due to the widespread usage of electronic devices. My task is to develop an electrochemical measurement equipment, which makes it possible to perform structural tests on the cross-sectioned solder joints by selective etching process.

During my work I have examined the applicability of electrochemical methods in electronics technology. I have compared different types of integrated circuits available on the market, which might be adaptable to the execution of selective electrochemical etching. I have also investigated their ability to perform potentiometric and amperometric measurements.

I designed a microcontroller based circuit that is suitable for performing electrochemical measurements on selected integrated circuits and for parameterization a graphical user interface was developed by me.

I have designed the printed wiring board of the circuit. The prototype was populated measured and initialised by me. Based on the dedicated specification the controlling Firmware of the microcontroller was programed. For usability reasons a simple graphical user interface was generated. The prepared circuit design was verified by several pilot tests, then I examined if it is capable of doing selective electrochemical etching.

Finally I have analysed the limits of applicability of the complete equipment by a series of measurements.